SOME ADVANTAGES. OF TAXATION

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 35, 4 November 1937, Page 4

SOME ADVANTAGES. OF TAXATION

Taxation now bears eo heavily upon tha people that it i? in danger of being regarded as a form of legalised robbery. Taxjation ,however, is necessary in any organised community; the test of its desirability is in the manner in which the proceeds of taxation is spent. In its latest ciTCular, "The Significance of Taxatiou," the Bank of New South "Wales states that the advantages derived from taxation may not be apparent but they are nevertheless very real. Taxation must be looked at as a composite process involving the collection and spending of tax reveuues before illogical criticism of it can be entirely removed, aays the aitieic. * t Taxation) the bank points out, is used to provide collective serviees for members of the community in cases where they would be unable .to make provision for them individually. For this reason it is desirable that e'ach member of the community who is in a position to. do so should contribute towards the expenseo of such benefits as are enjoyed in common. A few examplea of collective serviees are the security made possible by the provision for defence and the administration of law and order, free education and comprehensive aocial serviees, the enjoyment of public parks and playgrounds and the facilities for travel and transpoxt afforded by good roads. Consnmers may be regarded as spending their incomeS in two waya, First they spend part of their income in directly satisfying personal needs and seconolv they pay a further amount towards porchasing a share in communail benefits. There is, of course an essential difference. , between these two types of spending. The first type dependa upon .the individual's income and his willingness to spend it. But in the second case the deciding factor is public rather than private inclination. "Taxation must therefore," says the article? "be regarded as a meaiis wbereby all members of the community can be assured of at least such goods and serWces as will enablo them to maintain their health and efficiency." Yefc, it is possible that taxntion may discrimiuate against one section of the community or .may be spent upon projocts that aro socially undesirable. In this case the et'fect Would be detrimental to the community as a whole. However, the banlc considers that it is the dUty 6f qll eitizens to help pay, according to their means, for the provjsibn of those bepeffts which will provide at least a minimum of enjoymCnt for those who cannot afford to purchase it for themselves.